Homily – Deacon Joe Oberting November 2, 2025 – Year C - Sun10 All Souls - All the Faithful Departed R1: Wisdom 3:1-9 The souls of the just are in the hands of God. Psalm 23 “The Lord is my Shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.” R2: Romans 5:5-11 Hope does not disappoint. Gospel: John 6:37-40 “Everything that the Father gives to me will come to me.”

We celebrate today ‘The Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed’, also known as ‘All Souls’ Day’. Yesterday was ‘All Saints Day’. Every year in the Church, we celebrate All Saints on Nov. 1st and All Souls’ on Nov. 2nd. It is special that this year All Souls’ falls on a Sunday. It replaces the readings we would normally have on the 31st Sunday in OT. On All Saints, we look to ALL the saints and seek their intercession with the Lord on our behalf. Today, on All Souls’ we remember all our friends and family members who have died. We now intercede on their behalf. They are counting on our prayers with hope, everlasting hope.. For we understand that the deceased cannot pray for themselves.

That may sound surprising. Once our lives have come to an end, there is nothing else we can do for ourselves. However, we understand that after death our loved ones are able to pray for the living. They can pray for us, but not themselves. So, the living - all of us - should pray both for the deceased AND for ourselves and for all the living (our neighbors). This solemnity specifies that it is ‘All the Faithful Departed’. Where does that leave the unfaithful departed? Well, somewhat dependent on us! On our prayers. We simply don’t really know about someone else’s faith, or their relationship with God. We can only see what they have shown us. It’s not our place to judge others. What did Jesus say? ‘Love one another as I have loved you.’ That’s all. We then leave it in his hands. And today, what does Jesus say about what the Father gives him? “I would not lose anything of what he gave me.” That should be comforting to us.

When one of our loved ones has died it is good that we are sad together no matter what they did during their lives. That is the definition of mourning (m-o-u-r-n-i-n-g) the loss of a loved one. Jesus is not sad for them, for he will never lose them, but we are sad because we know that we will never see them again until we join them in being with Our Lord. We will miss them. We do miss them. We are in mourning. The first time I experienced death - someone that I knew very well, and had died in a tragic accident - I was seven years old. I was in second grade. It was my uncle David Oberting. He was only 15. He was riding his bicycle to football practice. A woman had lost control of her car and hit him, and he died. I was stunned and didn’t quite understand what it meant. David was very kind to me, and my sister and brothers. He used to babysit us. The story in the family was that he was big and strong, ate like a horse, and would most likely play for the Buckeyes some day, Ohio State. We grew up in Columbus, Ohio.

I remember a few things, and still do today. I was sad but I could not cry - yet. I saw my mom and older brother crying. But I was numb. I didn’t know what I was feeling. Where were my tears? It was later, after his funeral. We were at my grandmother’s house - his mother. We all gathered to remember him. I remember being on a couch and noticed a small picture of David on the table next to me. I picked up the picture and held it close. Every time I looked down at it I started breathing heavily, almost uncontrollably. So I looked away. Then I looked back at it again. Then came that heavy breathing again. I was a bit embarrassed. Then I lost it. The tears came - and I could not stop. My family consoled me once they realized my condition. We were sad together. This event, though, helped solidify my faith, even at that young age.

I must have recently had my First Communion, so a few things of what we learned I could still remember and reflect on. That God is a loving Father. That Jesus is our brother and walked among us. That we truly receive him in Communion. He too consoled me. “I will lose nothing of what the Father has given me.” ‘Joey, your uncle is with me now and I will take care of him. You too are my friend, and I will never lose you, either. You have much more to do for me during your life. Don’t worry about the number of your days. Remain close to me and I will help you. Visit me often. Receive me often. I am always close to you, and I will never leave you.’ 2 This event helped me tremendously. The next death I would experience would be that of my own mother when I was nearly 13. I’ve shared some about her over the years. I dearly miss her, too. My faith carries me through these times. Our Lord is there always to carry us through the most difficult of times. Remember what Paul tells us in the Reading from Romans today: “Brothers and sisters, Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Hope.

We know that we hope for what we cannot see. We pray. The Trinity of God is once again explained to us today. The Father gave us the Son. The Son gave us his Word and his very life as he also became one of us. The Son was with the Father from the beginning. The Holy Spirit has been poured into our hearts. Let’s immerse ourselves in God! The Maker of all things - of all people! As in our Creed, it ends with this phrase, this truth: “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.” We remember all the faithful departed. All who have died. We look forward to their resurrection. (slowly) And we carry on in the world to share the Light of Christ with hope.

 St. Vincent de Paul is collecting boxed and canned goods for our Thanksgiving basket program. The program provides much-needed assistance to those in need during the Thanksgiving holiday. Donations can be dropped into the barrels inside the church.

To find out how you can help build these boxes, contact SVDP at 257-0387

THANKSGIVING MASS SCHDULE.

NOVEMBER 27, 2025

• 10:00AM BILINGUAL MASS

This will be the only Mass of the day.

Les hacemos una cordial invitación a todas las parejas y matrimonios a participar y ser parte del grupo de apoyo para parejas que se lleva a cabo en la parroquia de San Juan Bautista.  El grupo de apoyo y soporte a parejas de la comunidad que están en crisis y buscan ayuda para fortalecer su matrimonio. Las próximas fechas de reunión serán el miércoles 19 de noviembre a las 7:00pm. En el Segundo piso del salón parroquial. Se estarán tocando temas tales como, los traumas que nos ocasionan nuestros padres, como sobrellevar las carencias de la pareja, los vicios, como prepararte espiritual y económicamente, sanación Interior y la relación con los hijos. Para más información favor de llamar a Gaby Vargas al 707-287-0998

El movimiento Provida quiere agradecer a todos los participantes en la campaña que acaba de terminar. Normalmente durante los cuarenta días de presencia y oración llegábamos a 700 a 800 personas. en esta campaña por gracia de Dios hemos llegado a 1114 personas, esta es una gran bendición para todos,  muchas gracias por estar a favor de la vida,
Seguimos haciendo presencia de 10:00 am a 3:00 pm de lunes a viernes. Lo esperamos su participación hace la diferencia gracias y bendiciones

HORARIO DE MISA PARA EL DIA

DE ACCION DE GRACIAS.

27 DE NOVIEMBRE DEL 2025

• 10:AM MISA BILINGUE

  Esta sera la unica Misa del dia